Crimini Sliders

Yes, it's that time of the month again, i.e. my regular craving for vegetarian fare. I wanted something barbecue-y and brown crimini mushrooms, also called baby portobella, are the perfect substitute for beef because they have a smokey meaty flavor. I cooked them in a skillet with a tablespoon of water, added KFC bottled barbecue sauce, then I filled the cavities of the mushrooms with grated Gouda, topped with sauteed onions and served in 2½-inch mini burger buns. These are very good barbecue mushroom sliders. For regular size buns, you can use the very large portobellas. And for added smokey flavor, cook then on the grill.

Crimini Sliders
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium Vidalia or yellow onions, sliced thin
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
12 brown crimini mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
1 tablespoon water
½ cup barbecue sauce
grated Gouda
12 mini hamburger buns, grilled or toasted

• In a skillet, heat the olive oil and saute onions and salt until onions are translucent. Add the herbs and stir fry for 2 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
• In the same skillet, simmer, covered, the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon water until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the barbecue sauce and stir until the mushrooms are fully coated with the sauce. Turn the mushrooms and fill the cavities with enough Gouda, flip the mushrooms and cook until the cheese has melted. Put one mushroom on the bottom half of each mini bun, and top with onions and cover with the top half of the bun. Enjoy!

The white bread recipe is here. To make mini burger buns, scale 1 - 1½ ounces of dough. Brush the risen buns with egg wash and top with sesame or poppy seeds just before baking.

Green Bouillabaisse

delicious meatless dinner: all-vegetable bouillabaisse, crusty bread, and aioli

After weeks of having chicken and meat, we usually crave for vegetarian dishes to sort of "cleanse the palate". And Michel Richard's fishless bouillabaisse recipe is the perfect dish to satisfy an all-vegetable craving. The preparation is a bit involved so I cut it down by using frozen baby artichokes. I also used very young rainbow chard from my garden in place of baby spinach and the white parts of green onions because we don't care much for leeks. The combination of flavors is fantastic and a large bowl of this healthy and delicious green bouillabaisse is extremely satisfying specially with aioli-topped fresh out of the oven Pain à l'Ancienne.

Green Bouillabaisse With Aioli
adapted from Michel Richard's Green Bouillabaisse

4 large ripe tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
3 green onions, white parts only, sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
orange
½ pound frozen baby artichokes
a pinch of saffron
½ tablespoon sugar
a quarter of a star anise
½ cup dry white wine
1½ tablespoons Pernod (anise liqueur)
1 sprig thyme
salt and ground black pepper
1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then sliced
1 fennel bulb, cored and julienned
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 cups baby spinach

• Cut the tomatoes in half. Remove seeds over a strainer on top of a bowl. Set aside the strainer. Grate the tomato halves directly on the bowl. Discard tomato skins. Strain to measure 1½ cups tomato water. Set aside. Discard tomato pulp or keep for another use.
• Using a peeler, remove a quarter of the orange zest. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, heat the oil and saute onion until soft. Add the green onions and minced garlic and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add sugar, star anise, saffron, and orange zest. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add artichokes, wine, Pernod, thyme, and tomato water. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Let mixture come to a boil and simmer, uncovered, until artichokes are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add zucchini, celery, and fennel. Simmer until fennel is tender crisp. Turn heat off and add spinach or chard.
• Remove and discard the sprig of thyme. Transfer bouillabaisse into a serving dish and serve with slices of crusty bread and aioli.

Aioli
one 4-ounce Yukon Gold potato, peeled, diced, and steamed
4 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated
1 egg yolk
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup grapeseed oil
fine sea salt
ground cayenne pepper
a few drops of lemon juice

• Put potato, garlic, egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon oil in a blender. Blend until potato is fully mashed. With blender running on high, slowly drizzle the oil, stopping to scrape down the sides when necessary, until mixture has thickened.
• Season aioli with cayenne, lemon juice, and sea salt to taste. Transfer into a jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Biryani

seitan biryani

I'm new to Indian food. It's only recently that I started liking this highly seasoned cuisine. I finally got an Indian cookbook after making and loving Chicken Kerala a few months ago. The Lamb Biryani in the book appealed to me right away but I substituted seitan for the lamb because I wanted a meatless dish. I made seitan by mixing vital wheat gluten with water, then cooking the cubed/sliced seitan in water seasoned with soy sauce and chopped onion. For the vegetables I steamed green beans, carrots (purple and regular orange), and skinned baby lima beans. This dish is very yummy and healthy too.

Lamb Biryani
2 pounds boneless lamb leg or shoulder, cut into 1½ inch cubes
3-inch piece of ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons garam masala*
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
4 green chillis, finely chopped
2/3 cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup chopped mint leaves
2 teaspoons salt
2½ cups basmati rice
4 onions, thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup light olive oil
2 ounces melted butter or ghee
1 cup plain thick yogurt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon saffron strands, soaked in ½ cup hot milk
steamed vegetables for topping: sliced carrots, green beans cut into half inch pieces, green peas, cauliflower

• Mix the lamb cubes in a bowl with the ginger, garlic, garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric, green chilli, coriander, mint, and salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Wash the rice in a sieve under cold, running water until the water runs clear. Set aside.
• Put the sliced onion in a sieve, sprinkle with the salt and leave for 10 minutes to drain of any liquid that oozes out. Rinse and pat dry.
• Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and fry for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain onions, reserve the oil and butter.
• Transfer the lamb and marinade into a casserole and add the browned onion, 2 tablespoons of the reserved oil and butter, and the yogurt, and cook on low heat, covered, for 40 minutes, or until lamb is tender.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a separate saucepan, boil enough water to cover rice. Add the rice to the pan. Return the water to the boil, cook the rice for 5 minutes, then drain well and transfer into a bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the oil and butter, the lemon juice, and a little salt and gently mix. Spread the rice evenly over the meat. Spoon the saffron milk over the rice.
• Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Serve topped with salted steamed vegetables.

*Garam Masala
from my cookbook THE FOOD OF INDIA a journey for food lovers:

Garam Masala means "warming spice mix". It can be a mixture of whole or ground spices. Recipes are numerous but they are all aromatic, rather than "hot" mixes.

makes 3 tablespoons
8 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves, torn into small pieces
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 two-inch cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces
1 teaspoon cloves

• Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods. Put all the ingredients in a spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. Store into a small airtight container until needed.

saffron milk and garam masala, ghee

uncooked seitan, steamed vegetables

very colorful and delicious meatless biryani

Pasta With Roasted Eggplant

I haven't made this meatless pasta dish in more than 10 years. With so many new recipes to try, I have forgotten that I used to make this frequently. I got this recipe from a magazine a looong time ago, I can't remember which one. It's good either as a main or side dish. I remember using fusilli for this dish, its grooves catch all the yummy sauce. I used pipette, a short pasta that also has grooves, you can use any kind of pasta, the taste will still be good. I also found these sweet long red peppers, the package says "Ancient Sweets" and used them in place of red bell pepper. I can't really tell the difference.

Pasta With Eggplant
1 eggplant
1 red bell pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic clove, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
½ cup olives, coarsely chopped
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 cup toasted pine nuts
salt, to taste
½ pound uncooked pipette or fusilli pasta
Parmesan cheese

• Cook pasta according to package directions while cooking sauce.
• Score eggplant all over, roast over stove fire until skin is charred. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Roast red bell pepper over stove fire until skin is charred. Wrap in aluminum foil until cool enough to handle. Remove skins from pepper and eggplant, then coarsely chop.
• In a large saucepan, heat olive oil, add garlic and red peppers, saute for 5 minutes, add tomatoes, olives, eggplant, and salt and stir cook for 2 minutes. Add basil leaves, then add cooked pasta. Mix well and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti Squash for Dinner

The Washington Post food section today features spaghetti squash which I never tried before maybe because I never liked squash. The writer says it stays crunchy so I went out and bought one, cooked it exactly as she said, boil whole for 40 minutes. It really is crunchy and sweetish and I like the texture. This vegetable does not need elaborate sauces, just add less than half a teaspoon of sea salt, half a tablespoon of unsalted butter, and dried sage (the store did not have fresh) and you have an uncomplicated side dish. For the main dish I fried store bought frozen falafel patties. This is surprisingly good specially with buttered steamed milagrosa rice flavored with lemon and herb, sea salt, and sprinkled with sumac powder. Tzatziki is a must for this Lebanese(?) style dinner.

a vegetarian meal of meatless falafel, spaghetti squash, and seasoned rice

dessert: fresh white peaches in syrup with a splash of peach schnapps

In the article the writer mentioned that she would probably eat vegemeat (seitan, tvp, tofu) more often if they were not impersonating animals as in tofurkey, soyburger, or soyhotdogs. I completely agree with her. If you try to make veggies other than what they really are you will just get disappointed because it will NEVER taste like meat or fish. In my opinion the best way to enjoy it is to cook them as they are, without disguising its natural form. Add lots of seasoning and vary the preparations and I think more people will enjoy eating meatless meals regularly. This may also stop them from making fun of tofu.

Meatless Spaghetti Bolognese

vegetarian spaghetti Bolognese with beef flavored seitan and textured vegetable soy protein

Meatless Spaghetti Bolognese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup chopped beef or chicken flavored seitan
1 cup hydrated TVP
16 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning (or chopped fresh basil, oregano, and rosemary)
cooked spaghetti
grated Parmesan cheese

• Heat oil and saute garli and onion for 2 minutes. Add seitan, TVP, and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute then add tomatos, broth, dried herbs, and salt. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Spoon on spaghetti and top with cheese.

• Iced avocado dessert: scrape ripe avocado with a spoon into a small bowl, add milk and sugar to taste then chill for an hour. Add a few ice cubes to individual cups.

White Chili

Wednesday's dinner : White chili topped with reduced fat cheese and Carr's table water crackers.
Dessert: homemade Cherry Garcia ice cream

Ingredients: 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 medium size chopped vidalia onion, 2 diced hot green chilis (the long meaty ones), 1 chopped green bell pepper, 2 teaspoonss ground cumin, 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 8 ounces shredded seitan, and a 16-ounce can of white beans.

Yumm. I should warn you , this meal is so light (meatless, eaten with crackers instead of rice) that you might end up snacking on leftover Chef Boyardee at midnight.